The Protagonist and the Antagonist
"Eh...?"
Kitasan Black froze.
"Meisei-chan... how did you know what I wanted to say...?"
"Maybe... intuition?"
On the screen, Duramente smiled.
"I just thought about the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe and felt a little uncomfortable. Then I figured Little Kita must have noticed.
"And then, you probably wanted to comfort me?
"Anyway, if it were you, you'd definitely do that, say that, wouldn't you?"
"Meisei-chan..."
Staring blankly at her friend on the screen, Kitasan Black broke into a chuckle.
"That's right, you guessed perfectly... But looking at you now, Meisei-chan, it seems like you don't need comforting at all."
Duramente smiled at that, then seemed to ponder for a moment.
"What's over is over. There's no point overthinking it. It's better to train harder and prepare for the next race.
"But you, Little Kita—the Tenno Sho Autumn is a week away. You're all prepared, right?"
"Of course! I—"
Her spirits lifted, and after promising without hesitation, Kitasan Black was about to continue when a familiar voice suddenly came from behind her.
"...I told you, Teio, you could have come over by yourself. Why did you have to drag me along...?"
"Well, I don't know her. Anyway, I came here to meet her, and since you know Koushou, you obviously had to introduce me!"
"You could've just told her you knew me. Little Kita has a great personality... Hey, let go of me already! She's going to look over here, uh..."
Kitasan Black immediately recognized one of the voices as Koushou Hayate's. Turning around, she saw her friend's familiar awkward, shy demeanor.
Beside Koushou Hayate stood a Horse Girl with brown short hair, glasses, and bright, sharp eyes.
Feeling that this Horse Girl had a unique aura—and that she looked somewhat familiar—Kitasan Black studied her